Joseph
Conrad’s degrading of the African natives throughout Heart of Darkness gives the African people a feeling of wildness,
of otherness, of savageness. He portrays them almost as alien beings infesting
the jungle from which civilized people reap riches. They (the Europeans – white
people) invade the natives’ land and then degrade them simple because they are
the way they are.
This alien characterization of
the natives elevates the white people far above where they would have been under
the normal way of things – an invading, hostile, greedy force that disrupted
the peace and way of life of the African tribes. Thus, the white characters are
portrayed as a civilized representation of humanity, while the blacks become
the wild, vicious, savage animals that must either be controlled or done away
with entirely.
For the novel as a whole, this
characterization bends the readers’ minds so that they will begin to view the
blacks as Conrad and other Europeans of that time period would have – as foreign,
filthy, disgusting, good-for-nothing savages who need to be put in their
places. Thus, we are able to see the natives as Marlow saw them – foreign,
confusing, interesting creatures with which one must not associate too closely.
I agree that Conrad goes above and beyond in degrading the natives in the narrative, and it could be because the book is a product of its time. Even Kurtz' death can be pinned on becoming too close to the natives. Its frankly repulsive how he depicts the natives, and even though the novel is a product of its time, it cannot be excused.
ReplyDeleteConrad does in fact use the method of comparison for two different things several times in the novel. For example, the two women representing Africa and Europe and as you said, the white represent the civilized people while the natives represent the uncivilized. Talking about this topic was very foreign to readers at this time because it wasn't something people really discussed. The characterization of these things help convey the message of the novel in a better way for the readers.
ReplyDeleteYour first paragraph surfaced the idea to me of how people play the part that they are given. I had not considered that not only is there the problem of the white man treating Africans like animals, but the problem of the Africans taking it upon themselves to act ;like the animals that they are portrayed to be. I also agree with your point of the white men being the symbols for humanity, while the African man is the symbol of the wild. I find it very interesting, it seems that there is always someone feeling the need to be the powerful almighty. Once it begins, green takes over completely, only leaving corruption and dehumanization.
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